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Bauchi Annual School Census 2024/2025

Policy-Oriented Analysis

The 2024/2025 Annual School Census covers 6,328 schools and centres across public, private and IQTE/IQS provision — approximately 1.97 million learners. This report transforms census data into practical evidence for planning, budgeting and education reform. It covers access and enrolment, gender equity, teacher deployment, infrastructure, WASH and LGA-level findings for all 20 LGAs.

1.97M+

Total Learners

(all public, private & IQTE/IQS)

6,328 schools/centres

6,328

Total Schools & Centres

(all provision types)

20 LGAs covered

95:1

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

(all public schools)

All public schools

Target: 35:1

122:1

Pupil-Classroom Ratio

(all public schools)

All public schools

Target: 40:1

61%

No Safe Water

(public primary & secondary)

Pupil-toilet: 346:1

35%

Female Teacher Share

(across all public school levels)

26% at JSS level

Target: 50%

OverviewEnrolmentGender & EquityTeachersInfrastructureWASHLGA FindingsRecommendations

Access & Enrolment

What the data shows

Bauchi's public basic education system is large — 1,144,255 pupils in 3,454 public primary schools. But access is uneven. The largest enrolments are in Bauchi LGA (141,348), Katagum (120,200), Toro (97,035), Ningi (80,476) and Zaki (69,447). Several LGAs face intense service pressure that simple enrolment counts do not reveal.

  • Public pre-primary and primary: 1,144,255 pupils across 3,454 schools.
  • Public JSS enrolment: 213,597. Public SSS enrolment: 98,321 — sharp thinning after primary.
  • IQTE/IQS serves 114,697 learners across 549 centres — more than public SSS enrolment.
  • Private formal sector: 1,264 schools with 389,625 learners. Bauchi LGA alone records 61,171 private primary pupils.
  • ST&V (Science, Technical & Vocational): only 7 public schools with 8,421 learners — too small for the state's skills agenda.
  • Total census coverage: 6,328 schools and centres, approximately 1.97 million learners.

What this means for budgeting

A fair resource formula should combine enrolment, deprivation, infrastructure condition and gender-sensitive WASH needs — not distribute resources by enrolment alone.

Gender & Equity

What the data shows

Girls are close to parity in most formal levels: 51% of public primary enrolment, 49% of public JSS and 48% of public SSS. But parity is not the same as justice. The next discussion should move from enrolment numbers alone to retention, safety, WASH, transition and girls' participation in ST&V.

  • Public primary female share: 51%. Public JSS: 49%. Public SSS: 48%.
  • Private schools show higher female share at secondary: 52% at JSS and SSS.
  • ST&V gender concern: girls are approximately 40% of public ST&V enrolment — a male-skewed route.
  • School re-entry: net attendance ratio for girls in secondary school is 29%, far below the national average of 55% (NBS, 2022).
  • About 30% of girls drop out before completing basic education, with early marriage and pregnancy as leading causes (UNICEF, 2021).
  • Data from NDHS 2023/24: 17% of adolescent girls aged 15–19 in Bauchi have been pregnant, compared to the national average of 15%.

What this means for budgeting

A policy that celebrates parity without fixing WASH conditions, re-entry pathways, ST&V access and safe schools will lose girls later — especially during adolescence.

Teachers

What the data shows

The state-wide pupil-teacher ratio for public pre-primary/primary schools is 95:1 — among the clearest staffing pressures in the census. Some LGAs are far above the state average. Female teachers remain significantly under-represented, particularly at JSS.

  • State-wide PTR (public primary): 95:1. Target: 35:1. Total qualified primary teachers: 12,048.
  • Highest PTR LGAs: Zaki (296:1), Toro (216:1), Itas-Gadau (164:1), Gamawa (146:1), Warji (140:1).
  • Qualification rates: 82% at primary, 83% at JSS, 75% at SSS are reported as qualified.
  • Female teacher share: 37% at public primary, 26% at JSS, 30% at SSS.
  • ST&V has only 184 teachers with 14% female — the lowest female teacher share in any sub-sector.
  • Female teachers support girls' retention, parent confidence, adolescent counselling and protection reporting. The 26% at JSS is particularly critical — this is where social pressure to leave school intensifies.

What this means for budgeting

Teacher deployment must be tied to school-level PTR, subject gaps and rural hardship needs. Female teacher recruitment and posting targets are needed especially for JSS.

Infrastructure & Classrooms

What the data shows

The pupil-classroom ratio for public pre-primary/primary is 122:1 — nearly triple the target. The challenge is both quantity and quality: 3,972 public classrooms are classified as unusable, and of the 20,738 usable ones, 4,156 need major repairs, 7,983 have insufficient seating and 5,340 lack a good blackboard.

  • Public primary usable classrooms: 9,378 for 1,144,255 pupils — PCR of 122:1 (target: 40:1).
  • Total usable classrooms across all public schools: 20,738. Unusable: 3,972.
  • Highest pupil-classroom pressure: Zaki (265:1), Warji (217:1), Katagum (211:1), Toro (203:1), Ningi (197:1).
  • 4,156 usable classrooms need major repairs; 7,983 have insufficient seating; 5,340 lack a good blackboard.
  • A classroom rehabilitation package may produce faster gains than new construction alone in many LGAs.
  • New classrooms should not be approved without furniture, toilets and a realistic teacher plan.

What this means for budgeting

Capital budget releases must be ring-fenced for construction and rehabilitation — combining new classrooms, seating, blackboards and WASH in a single improvement package.

WASH

What the data shows

WASH is one of the starkest warnings in the census. 61% of public pre-primary/primary schools report no source of safe water. The pupil-toilet ratio is 346:1. These figures affect all children, but girls carry a disproportionate burden when sanitation is poor.

  • No safe water source: 61% of public pre-primary/primary schools. Improves to 22% at SSS level, but the basic education gap is too high.
  • Pupil-toilet ratio (public primary): 346:1. Highest: Toro (805:1), Itas-Gadau (622:1), Warji (530:1), Tafawa-Balewa (522:1), Katagum (520:1).
  • Gender-separate latrines: fewer than half of public schools have them.
  • WASH spending should be treated as a retention, dignity and health measure — not only an infrastructure line item.
  • WASH gaps disproportionately affect girls' attendance and retention, especially from upper primary into adolescence.

What this means for budgeting

WASH provision must be treated as a core education investment, prioritised in LGAs with the worst ratios and linked explicitly to girls' retention and dignity.

Priority Recommendations

Immediate

Launch a Basic Education Decongestion Plan: identify the worst-pressure schools and LGAs, then combine classroom rehabilitation, furniture supply, targeted construction and school mapping. New classrooms should not be approved without furniture, toilets and a realistic teacher plan.

Responsible: Ministry of Education / Budget Office

Immediate

Adopt a Teacher Deployment and Recruitment Compact: tie recruitment and posting to school-level PTR, subject gaps and rural hardship needs. Set female teacher recruitment and posting targets — especially for JSS where only 26% of teachers are female.

Responsible: TESCOM / Ministry of Education

Immediate

Treat WASH as a Girls' Education and Retention Investment: prioritise toilets, water and menstrual hygiene facilities in upper primary, JSS and SSS, starting with the worst LGA and school ratios (Toro: 805:1, Itas-Gadau: 622:1, Warji: 530:1).

Responsible: Ministry of Education / RUWASA

Short-term

Build a Primary-to-Secondary Transition Programme: track Primary 5 to JSS 2 movement by school and gender, and use SBMCs, guidance teachers and community leaders to follow learners at risk.

Responsible: SUBEB / LGEAs

Short-term

Expand ST&V With Girls Planned In From The Start: expand technical streams in phases linked to Bauchi's economy, while providing girls' STEM clubs, safe transport or boarding where needed, female instructors and career guidance.

Responsible: Ministry of Education / Science and Technical Schools Board

Short-term

Bring IQTE/IQS Into The Main Planning Table: map centres, validate learner and facility data, train facilitators and develop bridge content for literacy, numeracy, life skills and child protection.

Responsible: BASAME / BASANE / Ministry of Education

Medium-term

Tighten EMIS Quality Control Before Publication: future ASC reports should include a validation note listing corrections made, unresolved issues, missing data and tables that should not yet be used for costing or sanctions.

Responsible: Ministry of Education / Planning, Research & Statistics

Medium-term

Link Budget Releases To The ASC Priority Map: quarterly education budget reviews should show which high-pressure LGAs received releases for teachers, classrooms, furniture, water and toilets — and what changed after each release.

Responsible: Ministry of Finance / Ministry of Education

Downloads & Citation

Suggested Citation

EduSpendNG / Young Leaders Network. (2026). Bauchi Annual School Census 2024/2025: Policy-Oriented Analysis. Bauchi, Nigeria: EduSpendNG.

Source: Bauchi State Annual School Census 2024/2025. Prepared from data supplied by the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and analysed by Young Leaders Network (YLN) under the Malala Fund SAGE Project.

Reporting period: 2024/2025 Academic Year.

Data status: Reported figures. Some LGA-level data is provisional pending final verification. The report contains apparent anomalies in some class totals and ratio columns that are flagged where identified.

Last updated: July 2026.

Limitations: IQTE/IQS centre-level data shows apparent ratio inconsistencies that should not be used for costing until verified. Out-of-school population estimates carry a ±5% margin. See full methodology →

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